Effect of concrete and anti-skid rubber floor types on some behavioural traits and stress level in Jersey cows

Rubber flooring has been used in dairy farms by farmers in the Western countries because of its advantage in terms of production and hoof health compared to concrete flooring. Little is known about the effect of rubber flooring on the behavioral traits and the stress level of dairy cows. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the effect of concrete flooring (CF) to anti-skid rubber flooring (RF) on some of behavioral traits and stress level of Jersey cows. Thirty dairy cows from two different farms that uses anti-skid rubber flooring (n=15) and concrete flooring (n=15) were selected based on their age which is 5 years old, in second lactation and of Jersey breed. Both farms practice similar feeding management system. Behavior of these cows such as standing, lying, walking, feeding and drinking was observed and recorded using an ethogram for a period of 2 hours daily for nine days. Observation of the behavior was done from 9 am until 11 am for the farm equipped with rubber flooring and 12 pm until 1 pm for the farm equipped with concrete flooring. Blood samples were collected from these animals on the tenth day and were analyzed for some hematological parameters. Frequency of cows lying down, standing and walking behaviours were significantly (P<0.05) affected by the types of floor. The number of cows lying down was significantly higher in RF (10.1±0.5) compared to CF (3.9±0.3) while the number of cows standing and walking is significantly higher in CF (13.8±0.2 and 7.6±0.4, respectively) compared to RF (8.7±0.5 and 5.1±0.3, respectively). Feeding and drinking behaviour were not affected by types of floor as there was no significant difference in these behaviour between RF and CF systems. The neutrophil count, lymphocyte count and monocyte count were significantly different between RF and CF farms (p<0.05), ) where CF farm had higher neutrophil and lower lymphocyte numbers than RF farm. The CF farm had higher neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (p<0.05) compare to RF farm where a high neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio is often associated with physiological stress.

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